美国将不参加联合国种族大会

 

 

US Won't Attend Racism¹ Conference

Jim Malone

Washington

27 Aug 2001 21:34 UTC

 

The U.S. State Department confirmed Monday that Secretary of State Colin Powell will not attend the United Nations conference on 1)racism that begins Friday.

U.S. officials including President Bush have been strongly 2)hinting for weeks that Secretary Powell was unlikely to attend the racism conference in South Africa because of the efforts of Arab countries that insist on language condemning³ Israel.

On Monday, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said diplomatic efforts to remove language from the conference documents 3)offensive to Israel have so far failed and that Secretary Powell will not be attending the conference in Durban, South Africa.

"We are working with some others to see to what extent the problems that the president 4)cited last week might be 5)remedied or might be in the process of being remedied," Mr. Boucher explained. "That will certainly be a factor in our decision but at this point it is clear that the secretary will not go to the conference and we haven't made the final decision on the nature and level of our participation⁴, if any."

The decision quickly won praise from the leading pro-Israel 6)lobbying group in the United States, the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC.

"We basically believe that the United States has done the right thing here and we deeply regret the fact that the committee of this conference caved in to the political pressure of those who oppose Israel and seek to 7)undermine her legitimacy⁵ to exist," said AIPAC spokesman Ken⁶ Bricker. "It is indefensible, from our point of view, to condemn² Israel for insisting that the Palestinian leadership honor its 8)commitments and at the same time ignore human rights 9)atrocities committed by countries like Iraq, Sudan and Afghanistan. This is ultimately what is wrong with this conference. It has become a conference for racism, not against it."

But others were quick to condemn the decision as 10)shortsighted and 11)counterproductive.

James Zogby is President of the Arab-American Institute, a lobbying group that represents Arab-American interests around the country.

"This [racism] is at the root of many of the 12)disturbances that are shaking this planet today," he said. "For the United States to absent itself from this discussion is neither a sign of leadership nor, I fear, a sign of 13)maturity. It is wrong. The place to be when you disagree is in the heart of the disagreement so that you can make your point clear. To take the position that if the rules won't be our way, we won't be there at all is simply not a mature leadership position to take and I obviously am deeply disappointed the United States is taking this position. I think it is very wrong."

Another major issue expected to come up for discussion at the conference is a demand by some African nations for reparations for slavery. That is a key issue for many U.S. civil rights groups that had hoped Secretary Powell would attend the conference.

Julian Bond is Chairman of one of the country's oldest civil rights organizations, the National Association for the Advancement⁷ of Colored People, or NAACP.

"We are disappointed that Secretary Powell won't head a high-level delegation⁸. We think it does reflect badly on the United States, that this is an issue of pressing importance to Americans but it is also an issue of pressing importance to people around the globe," Mr. Bond said. "The diaspora from Africa is widespread. The harmful effects of slavery are widespread. We are sorry that these issues have caused them to 14)withdraw and think it a 15)grave mistake."

At his news conference last Friday, President Bush said the 16)reparations issue had 17)apparently been 18)resolved prior to the conference. But he vowed⁹ that the United States would not send a representative to the conference as long as other countries, "pick on Israel."

 

 

(1)      racism n.种族主义, 人种偏见, 种族歧视

(2)      hint[hInt]n.暗示, 提示, 线索

(3)  offensive[E5fensIv]adj.讨厌的, 无礼的, 攻击性的n.进攻, 攻势

(4)      cite[saIt]vt.引用, 引证, 提名表扬

(5)      remedy[5remIdI]n.药物, 治疗法, 补救vt.治疗, 补救, 修补

(6)      lobby[5lRbI]n.大厅,游说议员者vi.游说议员vt.对(议员)进行疏通

(7)      undermine[QndE5maIn]v.破坏

(8)      commitment[kE5mItmEnt]n.委托事项, 许诺, 承担义务

(9)      atrocity[E5trRsItI]n.残暴, 暴行, 凶恶

(10)      shortsighted[FC:t5saItId, 5FC:t-]adj.近视的, 眼光短浅的

(11)      counterproductive adj.反生产的, 使达不到预期目标的

(12)      disturbance[dI5st:bEns]n.骚动, 动乱, 打扰, 干扰

(13)      maturity[mE5tjJErEtI]n.成热, 完备, (票据)到期, 成熟

(14)      withdraw[wIT5drC:]vt.收回, 撤消vi.缩回, 退出v.撤退

(15)      grave[^reIv]n.墓穴, 坟墓adj.严重的v.雕刻, 铭记

(16)      reparations n.赔款

(17)      apparently[E5pArEntlI]adv.显然地

(18)      resolved adj.下定决心的, 断然的

 

 

 

1 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

2 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

3 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

5 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

6 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

7 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

8 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

9 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。